Liveable Cities in Vikasit Bharath @2047 – Part B
In the previous part, we explored the Liveable Cities index created by The Economist and how India can enhance the liveability condition in its cities. Specifically we explored the mobility of rural population to urban areas and issues surrounding it including housing, sanitation, water, healthcare, and social infrastructure. In this article we shall explore about urban infrastructure development, urban transportation, public walkways, public encroachments, and other relevant issues.
One of the important policies that are being followed by all the governments in India as part of the developmental activities is infrastructure development. The problem with infrastructure projects in India is that they start on time, never end on time, but always gets paid on time (especially if it is being implemented by the ruling party beneficiaries). Even after the project is completed, the debris does not get cleared, the project is not clearly made ready for launch, and it is not properly handed over for implementation. The delays in closure of projects cause significant strain on the infrastructure of the cities, causing traffic jams, accidents, injuries, environmental pollution, and more than all that, strain on the finances of the city. The Government of India should come up with a policy to govern infrastructure projects in the entire nation, wherein, it should strictly stipulate that infrastructure projects, once envisaged, should be documented properly in the tendering stage (with strict timelines, scope including clearing getting it ready and commissioning), ensuring that the government grants all the necessary and relevant approvals for such public infrastructure projects through single-window schemes, managing such projects through strong contracts (with proper and regular training to all stakeholders involved in such tenders), and ensuring the contractors are paid on time (this can be ensured through escrow mechanisms or other modes of blocking funds for the project).
Another issue with the bigger cities in India is traffic congestion. Of the world’s ten most gridlocked cities in the world, three are in India (Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi).[1] This is because of the traffic jams in these cities. Within the infrastructure development projects, the government should focus more on urban mobility as urban transportation is causing severe stress on cities. Most of the cities in developed countries have a very well established public transportation system like metros (most of it underground), which in turn is also connected with feeder systems. And in most of such cities the urban transportation is accessible, available, and affordable. Such public transportation system provides multiple benefits to the city and to the nation: it ensures that every citizen prefers to travel using public transportation; it reduces the dependency on their own vehicles and on other commercial transportation companies like Ola, Uber, Rapido, etc.; this reduces the number of vehicles on the roads thereby reducing pollution levels, traffic jams, and reduced fuel consumption (that is currently being imported by India); It also reduces the parking problem in the city, making the city and the footpaths walkable for its citizens. The Government of India should take up this project on war footing to improve public transportation in all the important cities of India and making it available to its citizens at an affordable price.
Cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, and Delhi also face the challenge of clogging drains, especially during rainy season. This results in the drainage work being carried out throughout the year in almost all parts of the city. This causes multiple problems: the repair work clogs the roads with traffic; it poses significant health hazard to the citizens in the region; it prevents citizens from using the footpath, making them resort of other modes of mobility further leading to traffic jams; and most importantly it drains the finances of the government. To curtail this, the Government of India should come up with a policy of sealing the drainages and preventing citizens from dumping garbage into drainages. Any breach of such rules should be penalized severely to set an example for others. Also framing the contracts to ensure that the work is managed effectively and efficiently with little inconvenience to citizens becomes pertinent. Once completed footpaths should be kept clear of banners, posters, garbage bins, hawkers, food stalls, etc., so that citizens are able to walk conveniently using such footpaths for their mobility. This would start a virtuous cycle in the society, as it would reduce traffic problems in the city, reduce pollution, enhance the health benefits of the citizens, and also reduce the healthcare expenditure for the government.
All the important cities in the world, be it New York, Washington, London, Paris, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, or Dubai, have a dedicated space for a large park that serves as the oxygen supplier for the major part of the city. Such parks not just provides breathing space, but also act as cultural hubs for its citizens, where they can spend time with their family and friends without much commercial activities. They also provide a place for citizens to interact with each other, develop relationships outside the digital realm, and also help the next generation appreciate the value of nature, social relationships, and also private time. Such places provide citizens with an opportunity to appreciate the nature and its wonders. Cities in India used to have large gardens / parks, which have been reduced substantially in terms of size and scope, either because of encroachment or due to lack of maintenance. In addition, most of these places have become paid places, because of which citizens visit them only on special occasions and that too rarely. The ones that are not paid have become hubs of extreme commercial activities with food joints, hawkers, and other pestering visitors for sale. It is in the interest of the country to maintain parks and gardens in every city, despite the value of the land that it occupies, because the additional benefits that it provides would be enormous and invaluable. The Government of India should have a policy to protect and safeguard gardens and parks in every important city, not just from encroachment, but also from commercialization. Not only that, the policy should also focus on maintaining such parks and gardens to ensure that it attracts the right kind of citizens, while prohibiting anti-social elements from occupying them.
Another important aspect of any liveable city in any developed world is that citizens are not bombarded with politics at all times. You will not be able to see any posters, banners, or any messages associated with any political party. Once the citizens have elected their representatives, the citizens expect such elected representatives to provide good life and living environment without much intrusion. Contrary to this, citizens in India are constantly bombarded with political messages at all times. In fact political banners, posters, cutouts, and other form of political communication occupy most of the infrastructure earmarked for citizen’s use in Indian cities. The Government of India should bring a policy to curtail politics from the citizen’s daily life. Such a policy should not only prevent political banners, posters, cutouts, etc., but also enforce the existing rules of charging for such banners, posters, cutouts, advertisements, etc. This could not only enhance the revenue of the city that could be used in developmental activities, but would also provide ample walking space on the footpaths and walkways, thereby ensuring a city more liveable for its citizens.
While Vikasit Bharath @ 2047 aims to achieve overall development of the country with an intention to make India a developed nation, the Government of India would be better off with starting to make cities liveable in India. Towards that, we discussed in the first part that the government should first prevent migration from rural areas, ensuring good housing conditions, potable drinking water, and affordable quality healthcare facilities for its citizens. In this part, we explored other important issues like effectively implementing infrastructure projects, making public transportation pervasive and affordable, providing public walkways free from obstacles, preventing public encroachments of parks and gardens for the betterment of citizens, and other relevant issues that could make Indian cities more liveable.
Author:
Dr. Nithyananda KV, is a faculty member in the General Management Area at the Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu, India. He specializes in the area of Intellectual Property and its management.
[1] https://www.economist.com/asia/2024/08/01/indian-cities-are-utterly-unprepared-for-what-is-about-to-hit-them
